SEO content marketing roundup, week ending July 31st

In this week’s latest and greatest online marketing news, the watchword is optimization.

Content marketers discuss optimizing conversions and website content, SEO and search pros talk optimizing for Googlebot, while social media marketers discuss optimizing social media profiles.

Other highlights include video content and infographics, Google’s updated link schemes webmaster guidelines, Facebook marketing, branding strategy, and reputation management.

Enjoy this week’s picks!

Content Marketing

Arnie Kuenn posts “Optimizing Website Content: How to Fix What You’re Doing Wrong” at Content Marketing Institute.

Elisa Gabbert posts “What Makes ‘Great Content’ Great? 8 –Able Words for Greater Content” at WordStream.

Courtney Ramirez discusses “5 things your SEO copywriter needs to create powerful content” at SEO Copywriting.

Gabriella Sannino shares a G+ Level Headed Marketing conversation with industry luminaries with “Use Content Domination and Rule” at her blog.

Maggie Walsh shares “Beyond The Blog Post: Alternative Types of Content” at Vertical Measures.

D Bnonn Tennant discusses “Why Online Marketing is Like Being Attacked by Dogs – and 3 Principles for Sales Victory” at KISSmetrics.

eMarketer reports “Mobile Takes an Increasing Share of Email Opens.”

Seth Godin posts “Q&A: What works for websites today?”

Danny Brown talks of meeting realistic customer expectations with “The Power of Glamour and the Upsell of Dreams.”

Pratik Dholaklya discusses “What Every Conversion Rate Optimization Strategy is Missing” at Unbounce.

“The Master List of Conversion Tools for Merchants” is posted at Website Magazine.

Ellis Mc. Grath posts “Top 9 E-Commerce Usability Guidelines” at Usability Geek.

Blair Symes discusses “The Often Forgotten Ingredient for Measuring Content Marketing” at Jeff Bullas’s blog.

Branderati presents “The Age of Advocacy and Influence: 26 Stats Marketers Should Know” via SlideShare.

Cara Posey interviews Lee Odden about “Paid Content, PR and Content Marketing” at ExpertFile.

Neil Patel discusses “How to Create a Popular Infographic” at Quick Sprout.

Erin Pritchard posts an infographic on “What Makes An Infographic Bad & How To Make It Better” at Vertical Measures.

Ginny Soskey reports “SlideShare Introduces Support for Infographics, a Big Win for Marketers” at HubSpot.

Jay DeDapper posts “Brands Should Encourage User-Generated Video Content to Spread the Word” at ReelSEO.

Ryan Harris posts “Instagram vs. Vine: Cut Through the Hype and Make Short Form Video Work for You” at KISSmetrics.

Events: 

• Target Marketing and Printing Impressions are holding the free Integrated Marketing Virtual Conference & Expo 2013 August 15^th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.  Keynote speaker is Brian Solis!
• The Neilsen Norman Group’s Usability Week 2013 conferences will be held in New York City from August 25^th thru the 30^th, and Minneapolis from September 9^th thru the 13^th.
• Content Marketing World 2013 returns to Cleveland, OH, September 9^th thru the 12^th.
• MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum 2013 will be held October 9^th thru the 11^th in Boston.
• BtoB is holding Digital Edge LIVE October 23^rd in New York City.

(John Hall lists a number of great conferences for online marketers, businesses, and entrepreneurs at Forbes).

SEO & Search

Barry Schwartz reports on Google’s updated link schemes document with “Google Warns Against Large-Scale Guest Positing, Advertorials & ‘Optimized Anchor Text’ In Press Releases” at Search Engine Land.

In an update, Schwartz reports receiving some clarification from Google’s John Mueller concerning their updated link schemes webmaster guidelines, with “Google: Links In Press Releases Should Use Nofollow Like Paid Links” at Search Engine Land.

AJ Kohn discusses “Crawl Optimization: You Are What Googlebot Eats” at Blind Five Year Old.

Tim Resnik posts “SEO Finds in Your Server Logs, Part 2: Optimizing for Googlebot” at Moz.

Eric Enge discusses “Long Tail Content For SEO – 2013 & Beyond” at Search Engine Land.

Simon Penson discusses “How the Semantic Web Changes Everything for Search” at Search Engine Watch.

Glen Allsopp posts “Revealed: The New SEO (When Google Takes Freshness Too Far)” at ViperChill.

Bill Slawski posts “How Google May Diversify Search Results by Merging Local and Web Search Results” at SEO by the Sea.

Andrew Lazaunikas discusses “Duck Duck Go’s Impact On The Current SEO Landscape and Its Future Trajectory” at Search Engine Journal.

Heather Lloyd-Martin posts “Is your corporate ego messing up your SEO content?” at SEO Copywriting.

Ian Lurie discusses “How to: Do a content inventory” at Search News Central.

Liz Knight discusses “The Power of Google Rich Snippets for Ecommerce SEO” at HubSpot.

Manish Dudharejia posts “The Ultimate Guide to SEO Testing: Yes, it is Possible” at KISSmetrics.

Brian Massey posts “Statistical Tricks You Need That Prove You Should Read This Column Every Month” at Marketing Land.

Peter DaVanzo posts “Fix Google Panda Penalties: Update Your Marketing With Gamification Strategies & Loyalty Programs” at SEO Book.

Dustin Verburg shares “The 10 Best Link Building Tools of All Time” at Boom Online Marketing.

Sharon Hurley Hall shares “19 Key Insights into Universal Analytics” at The Daily Egg.

Guillaume Bouchard posts “The Ultimate Platform Migration and Redirection Plan for SEO” at Search Engine Watch.

Kathryn Aragon shares resources with “The Ultimate Guide to Author Rank, SEO, and Getting Your Content Read” at her blog.

Nick Stamoulis interviews SEO expert Trond Lyngbo at Brick Marketing.

Amanda DiSilvestro posts “Getting Started With Google Places for Business” at Search Engine Watch.

Ginny Marvin reports “Google Changes How Adwords Quality Score Is Reported” at Search Engine Land.

Ryan Moothart posts “Tell a Story – Making Reports Worth Everyone’s Time” at Portent.

Events: 

• TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2013 will be held September 7^th thru the 11^th (in San Francisco). Early Bird pricing available through August 19th.
• SES San Francisco is set for September 10^th thru the 13^th. Early Bird rates available thru August 15^th.
• SMX East 2013 returns to New York City, October 1^st thru the 3^rd.
• PubCon Las Vegas 2013 is on for October 22^nd thru the 25^th.  Early bird savings schedule of up to $600 thru September 15^th, then $400 thru October 20^th!

Social Media Marketing

“LinkedIn Sponsored Updates” headlines Social Media Examiner’s weekly news.

eMarketer reports “Mobile Tops Desktop for Social Sharing.”

Arnie Kuenn shares “4 Ways To Create Successful Social Media Content” at Vertical Measures.

Amy Gesenhues reports “Omnicom & Publicis To Merge, Creating ‘A New Company For A New World’” at Marketing Land.

Gini Dietrich shares “Seven Reasons the Publicis Omnicom Merger is a Big Deal” at Spin Sucks.

Michael Stelzner interviews Mari Smith with “New Facebook Features: What Marketers Need to Know” (podcast) at Social Media Examiner.

Lee Odden also interviews Mari Smith with “Successful Facebook Marketing Examples, Tips & A Secret from Mari Smith” at TopRank.

Mike Bal discusses “The Anatomy of a Perfect Facebook Post” at Quick Sprout.

Andrea Vahl discusses “4 Ways Marketers Can Use Facebook Hashtags” at Social Media Examiner.

Aaron Elliott shares a post and infographic, “Selling on Social Media”, at Social Media Today.

Heidi Cohen posts “Social Media Buyer Persona – 10 Questions to Ask.”

Neal Schaffer posts “Introducing a New Free Facebook Page Analytics Tool: Komfo” at Maximize Social Business.

Sam Kennedy posts “Top 5 Tenets Of An Effective Community Management Policy” at Blue Focus Marketing.

Mark Schaefer discusses “Social media research, customer insight, and the power of the one” at {grow}.

Debbie Hemley shares an A to Z guide with “26 Tips to Enhance Your Social Media Profiles” at Social Media Examiner.

Brad Mauney posts an infographic, “Five Simple Ways to Boost Your Professional Brand On LinkedIn” at the LinkedIn Blog.

Jasmine Sandler discusses “How to Ensure a Positive Online Reputation For Your Executive and Company Brand” at Search Engine Watch.

Doc Sheldon posts “Branding Strategy | Building a Foundation on Trust” at Level 343.

Danny Brown’s latest Sunday Share features “A Fireside Chat with Tumblr’s David Karp.”

Dan Lyons discusses copyright infringement with “Tumblr Shuts Down Popular Blogger: Who’s Next?” at HubSpot.

Events: 

• Social Fresh West 2013 will return to San Diego August 22^nd and 23^rd.
• The fifth annual (online) Social Media Success Summit begins October 1^st and will run through October 23^rd. Limited-time discount of $350 until August 2^nd, or when the first 500 tickets are sold!
• Social Brand Forum 2013 will be held in “Iowa’s Creative Corridor” in Coralville, October 24^th and 25th.

(For an all-in-one listing and description of social media, content & inbound marketing events, check out Neal Schaffer’s “The 12 Best Social Media Conferences to Attend in 2013” at Social Media Today.)

photo thanks to Debs